Chapter 4955: TRACKS; CROSSINGS

If, in the location of any part of a railroad owned or operated
by a domestic or foreign corporation, it is necessary to occupy with a surface
or elevated track, with the necessary supports for it, any public road, street,
alley, way, or ground of any kind, or part thereof, the municipal corporation
or other corporation, or the public officers or authorities owning or having
charge of such public road, street, alley, way, or ground, and the company may
agree upon the manner and conditions upon which it can be used or occupied. In
the event of the occupancy of such ground with an elevated track, the agreement
shall specify the number, character, and location of all supports for the
track, any part of which will be upon such public ground, and the vertical and
longitudinal clearances between such supports.

If the parties are unable to agree as provided in section
4955.01 of the Revised Code, and
it is necessary in the judgment of the board of directors of the railroad
company, to use or occupy such road, street, alley, way, or ground, or a part
thereof, for surface tracks or for crossing with an elevated structure when no
piers, supports, or obstructions are to be placed in such road, street, alley,
way, or ground, the company may appropriate so much of it as is necessary for
the purposes of its railroad in the manner and upon the terms provided for in
sections 163.01 to
163.22 , inclusive, of the Revised
Code.

Every railroad company which lays a track upon or over any
street, alley, road, or ground, or part thereof, as provided in section
4955.01 of the Revised Code, is
responsible for injuries done thereby to private or public property lying upon
or near such ground, which may be recovered by civil action brought by the
owner before the proper court at any time within two years from the completion
of the track.

When it is declared necessary by two thirds of the members of
the legislative authority of the municipal corporation and the mayor approving,
any municipal corporation may grant the right, by ordinance, to a railroad
company operating a railroad in such municipal corporation to place and
maintain necessary piers, or other stays or supports, in any street or way,
when they are provided for and included in the plans and specifications
prepared for the abolishment of grade crossings in such municipal corporation
under sections
4957.10 to
4957.26 of the Revised Code. Every
railroad to whom a grant has been made by any municipal corporation shall
notify in writing the authorities making the grant of its rejection or
acceptance of the grant at a time fixed by such authorities when making the
grant. After such grant has been made and accepted by a railroad, if within
sixty days after such acceptance there is filed with the mayor of the municipal
corporation making such grant a petition protesting against it signed by such a
number of the electors of the municipal corporation qualified to vote at the
most recent general election as equals ten per cent of the number of votes cast
for mayor at the most recent election for mayor, he shall certify that fact to
the proper election officials.

The officials in charge of
general elections, in accordance with the laws relating to elections, shall
arrange for and conduct the submission of the question referred to in section
4955.04 of the Revised Code to the
electors. The question whether the grant shall be made shall be submitted to
the electors of such municipal corporation at the succeeding general election
occurring more than ninety days after the expiration of the sixty
days referred to in such section. The ballots at such election shall read
"Elevated Railroad Grant--Yes;" "Elevated Railroad Grant--No." If at the
election a majority of the votes cast on such question is against the grant, it
shall be void.

Sections
4955.01 to 4955.06, inclusive,
4961.16, and 4961.17 of the Revised Code do not authorize a grant of the right
to occupy any public street, avenue, or alley, longitudinally by an elevated
track, except in so far as necessary to accommodate a curve in the line of the
elevated track, in which case no supports shall be placed in the roadway of the
street, avenue, or alley between the curb lines thereof. Such longitudinal
occupancy of the street, avenue, or alley shall not exceed three hundred feet
in length.

Every company shall make every railroad constructed or
controlled by it of one uniform gauge or width of track from end to end. When a
railroad connects with or crosses another railroad, the companies owning or
controlling such railroads may adopt such uniform gauge or width of track as
will enable each company to pass its cars over the railroad of the other. If
railroads so connecting or crossing are constructed of different gauges or
widths of track, the companies controlling them may lay down, and maintain upon
the whole or any portion of such railroads, additional rails so as to admit the
passage of the same cars over both railroads, and also maintain and operate
either or both of such railroads upon the tracks originally constructed, as is
deemed expedient by the companies owning or controlling either or both of the
railroads.

When two or more railroad companies have two or more tracks of
the same gauge in the same street, alley, public way, or opening through a
municipal corporation, the legislative authority of such municipal corporation
may require such companies to use such tracks in common and to pass their
locomotives and cars over each track in one direction only.

No person or corporation shall willfully interfere with or
obstruct any company engaged in laying the track of its railroad across any
other railroad, if such company has fully complied with the law and obtained
the right to so lay its track. No person or corporation shall obstruct the full
operation of any railroad so constructed. A person or corporation which
violates this section, for each day of such interference or obstruction, shall
pay one thousand dollars, to be recovered by action in the name of the state.
Half such recovery shall go to the company so interfered with, and half to the
county in which the interference occurs. Such person or corporation is also
liable for damages to the party injured.

When the tracks of two railroads cross each other, or in any
way connect at a common grade, the crossings shall be made and kept in repair
and watchmen maintained at such crossing at the joint expense of the companies
owning the tracks. All trains or engines passing over such tracks must come to
a full stop not nearer than two hundred nor further than eight hundred feet
from the crossing, and must not cross until signaled to do so by the watchman,
nor until the way is clear.

When two passenger or freight trains approach a crossing at the
same time, the train on the road first built shall have precedence if the
tracks are both main tracks over which all passengers and freights on the road
are transported. If only one track is such main track, and the other is a side
or depot track, the train on the main track shall take precedence. If one of
the trains is a passenger train and the other a freight train, the passenger
train shall take precedence, and regular trains on time take precedence over
trains of the same grade not on time. Engines with the cars attached, not on
time, shall take precedence over engines without cars attached, not on time.

The managing agent or superintendent of each railroad shall
establish, and publish to all the employees on the railroad, such rules and
regulations as in all cases will secure strict compliance with sections
4955.10 and
4955.11 of the Revised Code, and
shall republish such rules and regulations on each timetable or card issued to
the employees on the railroad.

If a managing agent or superintendent fails to establish and
publish rules and regulations as provided by section
4955.12 of the Revised Code, or
fails to republish them on each timetable or card issued to the employees on
the railroad, he is personally liable for every such failure to a penalty of
one hundred dollars, to be recovered together with costs in an action against
him in favor of the state, to be brought in the court of common pleas of the
county in which the crossing is. Such agent or superintendent, and the company
of which he is agent or superintendent, shall also be liable in damages to any
person or company injured in person or property by an accident arising from
such failure.

An engineer or person in charge of an engine who willfully
fails to comply with sections
4955.10 and
4955.11 of the Revised Code, or
fails to bring the engine of which he is in charge, with the train attached to
it, to a full stop at least two hundred feet before arriving at a railroad
crossing or connection, or crosses it before signaled to do so by the watchman,
or before the way is clear, is personally liable to any person injured by
reason of such failure in a penalty of one hundred dollars, to be recovered by
civil action at the suit of the state in the court of common pleas of the
county in which such crossing or connection is. The company in whose employ
such engineer or person in charge of an engine is, as well as the person
himself, is liable in damages to any person or company injured in person or
property by such neglect or act of such engineer or person.

If two railroads crossing each other, or in any way connecting
at a common grade, by works or fixtures to be erected by them render it safe to
pass over those crossings without stopping, and the works and fixtures first
are approved by the public utilities commission, and the plan thereof for the
crossing, designating the plan of crossing, has been filed with the commission,
sections 4955.10 to 4955.15 of the Revised
Code do not apply. If the commission disapproves the plan, or fails to approve
it within twenty days from its filing, the companies may apply in the county
where the crossing is situated to the court of common pleas or a judge of that
court in vacation. Upon reasonable notice being given to the commission and
upon good cause shown, the court or judge shall appoint a competent
disinterested engineer, not a resident of the county through which the
railroads pass, to examine the crossing and prescribe the plan of and
conditions for it. Not later than twenty days after his appointment, the
engineer shall submit the plan and conditions to the applicable court of common
pleas, subject to exceptions by any affected party. The court shall examine,
approve, and confirm them unless good cause is shown against that approval. The
order of confirmation shall be sufficient authority for the erection, use, and
occupancy of the crossing.

When outside the limits of a municipal corporation it becomes
necessary for the track of a railroad, street or electric railway, or
interurban railroad company to cross the tracks of another railroad, street or
electric railway, or interurban railroad company, or it is necessary within the
corporate limits of a municipal corporation for the tracks of a railroad,
street or electric railway, or interurban railroad company to cross the tracks
of another railroad, street or electric railway, or interurban railroad
company, other than within the limits of a public street or highway, unless the
manner of such crossing is agreed to between such companies, the court of
common pleas of the county in which such crossing is located, or a judge of
such court in vacation, on application of either party, must ascertain and
define by its decree the mode of such crossing which will inflict the least
practical injury upon the rights of the company owning or operating the tracks
intended to be crossed.

If in the judgment of the court of common pleas or judge of
such court, as provided in section
4955.16 of the Revised Code, it is
reasonable and practicable to avoid a grade crossing, by its process the court
shall prevent a crossing at grade. In determining the mode of such crossing, no
grade shall be required to exceed the established maximum or ruling grade
governing the operation by motive power of that division or part of the
railroad on which the improvement is to be made without the consent of the
company. Neither company's track shall be required to be placed below
high-water mark.

The court, by its order referred to in section
4955.16 of the Revised Code, shall
define the manner in which the applicant is to do or let the work for such
crossing and equitably apportion the initial expense of such construction or
crossing and the expense of maintenance among the parties interested. A party
feeling aggrieved by the decision of the court shall have the right of appeal
as in other civil cases. Unless the companies agree upon the compensation to be
paid for the land occupied by such crossing, the court shall submit that
question to a jury as provided in other cases for the appropriation of private
property.

Sections
4955.16 to 4955.19, inclusive, of
the Revised Code, do not prevent any street or electric railway company,
interurban railroad company, or railroad company from laying additional tracks
at existing crossings, under authority existing on May 9, 1908.

Companies operating a railroad in this state shall build and
keep in repair good and sufficient crossings over or approaches to such
railroad, its tracks, sidetracks, and switches, at all points where any public
highway, street, lane, avenue, alley, road, or pike is intersected by such
railroad, its tracks, sidetracks, or switches. Such companies shall build and
keep in repair good and sufficient sidewalks on both sides of streets
intersected by their railroads, the full width of the right of way owned,
claimed, or occupied by them. The board of township trustees shall have power
to fix and determine the kind and extent, and the time and manner of
constructing, crossings and approaches outside of municipal corporations. The
legislative authority of a municipal corporation may exercise the same powers
as to crossings, approaches, and sidewalks within municipal corporations as
such board exercises concerning crossings and approaches outside of municipal
corporations. Such crossings, approaches, and sidewalks shall be constructed,
repaired, and maintained by the railroad companies as so ordered.

(A)
If the interstate commerce commission
approves the abandonment of a railroad track that crosses a road or highway at
grade, the railroad that owned the track immediately after the approval of the
abandonment shall remove the track at the crossing and fill the space
previously occupied by the rails with the same material that comprises the road
or highway at the crossing. Upon completion of the work, the surface of the
crossing where the rails previously were located shall be the same height as
the surface of the road or highway abutting the crossing. The restored portion
of the road or highway shall meet the construction standards applicable to the
road or highway of which the restored portion is a part.

(B)
No railroad shall fail to remove from a
crossing the rails that comprise a track whose abandonment has been approved or
fail to fill the space previously occupied by the rails as required by division
(A) of this section.

The officers having charge of a public highway, street, or
alley intersected by a railroad shall serve a written notice upon the nearest
station agent or section foreman having charge of that portion of the railroad
where such intersection occurs that the crossing, approach, or sidewalk
described in section
4955.20 of the Revised Code must
be built or repaired, setting forth its kind and extent and the time and manner
of constructing it, as ordered by the legislative authority of the municipal
corporation or board of township trustees. A railroad company so notified must
comply with such notice within a period of thirty days after receiving it. On
failure to do so, the board or legislative authority may cause such crossing,
approach, or sidewalk to be constructed or repaired as ordered, and recover the
cost of so doing with interest in a civil action against the railroad company
in the name of the board or municipal corporation.

A railroad company which neglects to comply with sections
4955.20 and
4955.21 of the Revised Code is
liable to pay damage to the municipal corporation or township in which the
highway is situated in the sum of thirty dollars for such neglect, and a
further sum of ten dollars per day for each day such company fails to comply
with the terms of such sections, to be recovered in an action brought in the
name of the municipal corporation or township. The prosecuting attorney of the
county shall prosecute to judgment any claim arising under such sections
without charge to the municipal corporation or township.

No person or company owning or operating a railroad which
crosses over and above a street less than seventy feet in width, in any city in
this state, at an elevation above such street sufficient to permit persons to
pass and repass along such street beneath the crossing, shall place, cause to
be placed, or permit to be or remain in the street beneath such crossing or
bridge, any pier or other stay or support for it, unless the placing or
maintaining of such pier, stay, or support is authorized by the city in which
the crossing is situated by ordinance, or permit such crossing or bridge to be
or remain in such condition that iron, coal, other hard substance, fluid, or
noisome matter can fall or drop through such crossing or bridge upon persons
traveling or passing beneath it.

A person or company owning or operating a railroad that fails
to comply with the requirements of or violates section
4955.23 of the Revised Code, for
each day during the continuance of such failure or violation, shall forfeit to
such city one hundred dollars, to be recovered in a civil action in the city's
name, against the owner or operator of such railroad, or both, as the city
elects. Like recovery may be had for subsequent failures and violations.

The legislative authority of a city may prohibit the switching
of freight engines, trains, or cars, over or on a crossing or bridge referred
to by section
4955.23 of the Revised Code, the
sounding of locomotive steam whistles on or near such bridge, and the standing
or stopping of a railroad engine over or on such crossing or bridge, and by
ordinance, may constitute a violation of such prohibition an offense and
provide for the punishment of any person guilty of such violation.

All railroads constructed across an avenue or public highway
leading from a city to a public cemetery of such city located within or without
the limits of the city, shall be constructed so as to pass under or over such
avenue or highway at an elevation or depression that will allow the
unobstructed passage of all vehicles necessary for any person to use on such
avenue or highway.

When a person owns fifteen or more acres of land in one body
through which a railroad passes, which land is so situated that he cannot use a
crossing in a public street, lane, road or other highway in going from his land
on one side of the railroad to that on the other side without great
inconvenience, at his request the company or person operating such railroad, at
the expense of such company or person shall, within four months after such
request, construct a good and sufficient private crossing across such railroad
and the lands occupied by the company, between the two pieces of land to enable
such landowner to pass with a loaded team and over which he may go at all times
when such railroad is not being used at the crossing, or so near to it as to
render passing thereat dangerous.

If, for four months after the request by a landowner for that
purpose, the company or person neglects to construct a good and sufficient
private crossing as provided in section
4955.27 of the Revised Code, after
reasonable notice to the agent of the company for receiving and shipping
freight at the station on the railroad nearest to the land where it is proposed
to construct such crossing by the landowner of the time when he will proceed to
construct it, such landowner may enter upon the lands of the company at any
point he wishes between the two pieces of his land and construct such crossing.
Such company or person is liable to such landowner for all reasonable expense
of such construction, not exceeding fifty dollars, which he may recover in an
action against such company or person.

Sections
4955.27 and
4955.28 of the Revised Code do not
apply to any case in which compensation for building a private crossing is
considered and estimated as part of the consideration to be paid for the right
of way, so far as the right to private crossing has been or may be settled or
paid for. Such sections do not affect, in any manner, any contract or agreement
between any railroad company or person having control or management of a
railroad and the proprietor or occupants of lands adjoining, for the
construction or maintenance of railroad crossings.

A person owning or operating a coal or iron-ore mine, stone
quarry, rolling mill, or machine shop, who, as a means of removing the product
thereof, uses or desires to use a railway, may construct one and run cars on
it, over or under any railroad or public highway, the consent of the owner of
the fee in the land at such crossing first being obtained. Such railway shall
be so constructed that it will not impede or interfere with the running of cars
or the travel upon such railroad or highway, or in any manner injure or impair
either, or any switch, building, or appurtenance connected with or belonging to
any railroad or highway. When such freightway is constructed over a railroad,
it shall be at the height of at least eighteen and one-half feet in the clear
above the rails of the railroad.

Before a person constructs a railway across a railroad as
provided in section
4955.30 of the Revised Code, he
shall submit the plan of construction to the public utilities commission for
its approval, which at the cost of such person for traveling expenses or
otherwise, must see that the structure in all respects conforms to the
requirements of such section.

(A)
As used in this section, "lite locomotive consist" means a
consist of locomotives not attached to any piece of equipment or attached only
to a caboose.

(B)
When
the
locomotive in the lead of a train, when a lite locomotive consist, or
when an individual locomotive is approaching a public
highway or
a
grade crossing ,
either of the following shall occur:

(1)
The engineer or person in charge of the locomotive shall sound
the locomotive horn in accordance with 49 C.F.R. part
222;

(2)
An
alternative audible warning system approved by the public utilities commission
under section 4955.321 of the Revised Code shall be activated in accordance
with guidelines established by the commission.

The establishment of an alternative audible
warning system does not preclude the sounding of a locomotive
horn by an engineer or other person in charge of
a
locomotive in an emergency situation, as determined by the sole judgment
of the engineer or other person.

The public utilities
commission may evaluate alternative systems for providing an audible warning of
an approaching locomotive . The
commission may approve the use of an audible warning system as an alternative
to the horn sounding required under division (B)(1) of
section 4955.32 of the Revised Code only if it determines that the alternative
audible warning system complies with applicable federal requirements for an
audible warning of an approaching train and only if train-activated warning
devices also are present at any public highway or
grade crossing at which the alternative audible warning system is
installed. The commission shall establish guidelines for the use and operation
of any alternative audible warning system it approves.

The sounding of a locomotive horn at a private crossing or
the failure to sound a locomotive horn at a private crossing is not a basis for
a civil action against the railroad company that operated the locomotive, a
board of county commissioners, or any local authority, or against the employees
or agents of the company, board, or authority.

At all points where its
railroad crosses a public road at a common grade, each company shall erect
crossbuck signing at positions at each such crossing that are in accordance
with the department of transportation manual for uniform traffic control
devices, adopted under section
4511.09 of the Revised Code, to
give notice of the proximity of the railroad and warn persons to be on the
lookout for the locomotive. Any such signing that has been or is erected in
accordance with this section may lawfully be continued in use until it is
replaced. A company that neglects or refuses to comply with this section is
liable in damages for all injuries that occur to persons or property from such
neglect or refusal.

Every engineer or
person in charge of a locomotive who fails to comply with section
4955.32 of the Revised Code is personally liable to a penalty of not less than
fifty nor more than one hundred dollars, to be recovered by civil action at the
suit of the state in the court of common pleas of a county in which the
public highway or grade crossing is
located.

The company in whose
employ such engineer or person in charge of a locomotive is, as well as the
engineer or person in charge,
is liable in damages to a person or company injured in person or property by
such neglect or act of such engineer or person in
charge.

Every railroad company operating a railroad or part of a
railroad within this state shall adjust, fill, or block all angles in frogs,
switches, and crossings on its railroads and in its yards, divisional stations,
and terminal stations where trains are made up, with sheet steel, wrought or
malleable iron, or other metallic appliances, which shall be so placed and be
of such design as will prevent the wedging of the feet of employees and other
persons in such angles. All such appliances or devices shall be approved by the
public utilities commission before installation. Whoever, owning, operating, or
controlling a railroad fails to comply with this section shall forfeit
twenty-five dollars for each day of such failure, to be recovered in a civil
action in the name of the state and paid into the state treasury.

Every railroad company shall destroy or remove plants, trees,
brush, or other obstructive vegetation upon its right-of-way at each
intersection with a public road or highway, for a distance of six hundred feet
or a reasonably safe distance from the roadway of such public road or highway
as shall be determined by the public utilities commission. When any railroad
company fails to destroy or remove such vegetation after ten-day written notice
served on its local agent, the commission, board of county commissioners, board
of township trustees, or legislative authority of a municipal corporation, in
which the intersection is located, having the care of such road or highway,
shall remove such plants, trees, brush, or other obstructive vegetation and
shall recover the cost of removal from the responsible railroad company. If the
company fails to pay the amount demanded within thirty days, after such company
has been notified by certified mail at the address to which tax bills are sent,
the commission, board of county commissioners, board of township trustees, or
legislative authority of a municipal corporation shall certify the amount
demanded to the county auditor of the county in which the work was performed to
be collected as other taxes and assessments and upon collection shall be
credited to the general fund of the public body causing said work to be
performed.

(A)
"Railroad quiet zone" means a
designated area including and adjacent to one or more consecutive public grade
crossings that are equipped with automatic gates and lights that conform to the
manual on uniform traffic control devices and for which one or more
supplemental safety measures are implemented and used pursuant to sections
4955.41 to
4955.47 of the Revised Code.

(B)
"Supplemental safety measure"
means a supplementary safety measure, and the guidelines for the use and
operation of that measure, that are prescribed in
49 C.F.R.
222.41(a) and (e) and
Appendix (A), as set forth in 65 F.R. 2230 to 2270.

(A)
A
municipal corporation or township may establish within its jurisdiction one or
more railroad quiet zones implementing and using one or more supplemental
safety measures, through the enactment or adoption, after the effective date of
initial regulations adopted pursuant to the "Swift Rail Development Act,"
Pub. L. No.
103-440 , 108 Stat. 4615,
49 U.S.C.
20153 , of an ordinance or resolution
authorizing each zone and subject to public utilities commission approval under
this section.

(1)
Following enactment of an ordinance or
resolution under division (A) of this section, the municipal corporation or
township shall send a detailed written notice by certified mail, return receipt
requested, to each railroad operating over a public grade crossing within the
quiet zone. The notice shall request the railroad to give a written reply that
includes its comments about the quiet zone and details any concerns the
railroad has with any aspect of the quiet zone. The notice shall inform the
railroad that if the municipal corporation or township does not receive the
railroad's written reply within sixty days of the date of delivery of the
notice, the municipal corporation or township is permitted to submit its
application for approval of the quiet zone to the commission without the
railroad's written reply and inform the commission that it provided the written
notice as required by this section but that the railroad did not reply in a
timely manner.

(2)
The municipal
corporation or township then may file with the commission an application for
commission approval of the railroad quiet zone authorized pursuant to the
ordinance or resolution. The application shall be in such form and contain such
information as the commission specifies. All applications also shall include
all of the following:

(a)
The written reply
described in division (B)(1) of this section, if any, from each railroad
operating over a public grade crossing located within the quiet zone. If there
is a written reply and it contains concerns that the railroad has about any
aspect of the quiet zone, the municipal corporation or township shall include a
written statement explaining how it will meet those concerns.

(b)
A written statement from the federal
railroad administration, stating that the agency has no objection to the
establishment of the quiet zone;

(c)
If a municipal corporation or township
makes application under this division and wishes to pay all or part of the cost
of the installation or maintenance of supplemental safety measures at a highway
grade crossing located within the quiet zone in an adjoining municipal
corporation or township, a written statement from the adjoining municipal
corporation or township agreeing to that arrangement;

(d)
A list of the private grade crossings, if
any, that are located within the quiet zone, and a description of how the
municipal corporation or township will ensure the safety of those who utilize
those private grade crossings if the commission approves the quiet zone.

(3)
Any combination of
municipal corporations and townships may file a joint application for
commission approval of quiet zones within their respective jurisdictions.

(C)
Upon the filing of
an application under division (B) of this section, the commission shall
authorize a limited period for the filing of comments by any party regarding
the application. After considering any such comments and only by order issued
after the effective date of initial regulations adopted pursuant to the "Swift
Rail Development Act," Pub. L. No. 103-440 , 108 Stat.
4615, 49 U.S.C.
20153 , the commission may approve the
application, approve it with conditions, or reject the application. If the
application is complete and otherwise meets all the requirements of this
section, the commission shall approve the railroad quiet zone if the commission
finds that the supplemental safety measures proposed for each public crossing
included in the zone comply with the guidelines for the use and operation of
those measures as set forth in Appendix (A) of 49 C.F.R. part 222 and are
appropriate and adequate for the crossing. If the commission disapproves all or
part of an application as to a particular crossing, the commission's order
shall state the findings and reasons for disapproval. Nothing in this section
precludes the subsequent filing of a substantially modified application by the
municipal corporation or township. The commission shall reject an application
that does not include the documents described in divisions (B)(2)(a), (b), and,
if applicable, (B)(2)(c) and (d) of this section. If the application includes a
written reply and a written statement described in division (B)(2)(a) of this
section, the commission shall reject the application if the commission finds
that the statement from the municipal corporation or township does not
adequately address the concerns of the railroad contained in the railroad's
written reply. If the application includes a statement described in division
(B)(2)(d) of this section, the commission shall reject the application if the
commission finds that the application does not adequately address the issue of
the safety of those persons who will utilize the private grade crossings
located within the quiet zone if the commission approves its creation.

(A)
At
least ninety days prior to the date of first operation of a railroad quiet zone
established pursuant to section
4955.42 of the Revised Code, the
municipal corporation or township shall provide detailed, written notice of the
established zone by certified mail, return receipt requested, to each railroad
operating over a public grade crossing included in the zone, the highway or
traffic control authority or law enforcement authority having responsibility
for control of vehicular traffic at the crossings, the public utilities
commission, the director of public safety, and the associate administrator for
safety for the federal railroad administration.

(B)
For each railroad quiet zone established
pursuant to section
4955.42 of the Revised Code, the
commission shall issue an order expressly prohibiting any engineer or other
person in charge of a locomotive from sounding any locomotive whistle, horn,
bell, or other audible warning device within the distance of each public
crossing in the zone, as that distance is designated in the order of the
commission.

(A)
On and after the date of first operation of a railroad quiet zone established
pursuant to section 4955.42 of the Revised Code, divisions (B)(1) and (2) of
section 4955.32 of the Revised Code do not apply with respect to
the zone.

(B)
The establishment of a railroad quiet zone pursuant to sections 4955.41 to
4955.47 of the Revised Code does not preclude the sounding of a locomotive
whistle, horn, bell, or other audible device by an engineer or other person in
charge of the locomotive to address a perceived potential for injury, death, or
loss to person or property, as determined by the sole judgment of the engineer
or other person.

(C)
The
commission may suspend summarily the operation of a quiet zone established
pursuant to section 4955.42 of the Revised Code if the commission, through any
source, obtains sufficient, credible evidence showing that a condition at a
public grade crossing located within a quiet zone has changed to such an extent
that, even with the continuing existence of the supplemental safety measures at
the crossing, the quiet zone no longer qualifies as such under federal law or
the commission determines that public safety is otherwise compromised at the
crossing. Within fifteen days following the quiet zone suspension date
described in this division, the commission shall hold a hearing in the general
vicinity of the quiet zone in question to determine whether the quiet zone
suspension should be lifted or continued, or whether commission approval of the
quiet zone should be rescinded and the quiet zone eliminated.

(A)
Each
municipal corporation or township that has established a railroad quiet zone
pursuant to sections
4955.41 to
4955.47 of the Revised Code shall
submit a report to the commission every three years after the date of first
operation of the zone. The report shall be in such form and contain such
information as the commission shall prescribe by rule, including, but not
limited to, information on the number of traffic citations issued at the
crossing, roadway traffic counts at the crossing, and changes to the crossing
and roadway due to construction or improvements.

(B)
Once every three years after the date of
first operation of a railroad quiet zone established pursuant to section
4955.42 of the Revised Code, the
public utilities commission shall inspect each public grade crossing in the
zone and issue a report documenting the compliance of the zone with the
commission order issued under that section. The commission also may inspect
such a crossing at any other time.

(C)
The commission at any time and by order,
after notice and opportunity for the filing of comments, may require at a
public grade crossing in a railroad quiet zone established pursuant to section
4955.42 of the Revised Code the
implementation and use of such safety measures as it considers necessary and
appropriate to ensure that safety measures are appropriate and adequate for the
crossing or to ensure compliance with an order issued under division (C) of
that section or with the guidelines for the use and operation of those measures
as set forth in Appendix (A) of 65 F.R. 2230 to 2270, including to the extent
such guidelines are applicable upon any adoption of regulations pursuant to the
"Swift Rail Development Act,"
Pub. L. No.
103-440 , 108 Stat. 4615,
49 U.S.C.
20153 .

(A)
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the designation, establishment,
design, construction, implementation, operation, repair, or maintenance of, or
the lack of any of the preceding for, a public grade crossing included in a
railroad quiet zone established pursuant to sections
4955.41 to
4955.47 of the Revised Code is a
governmental function under section
2744.01 of the Revised Code.

(B)
Sections
9.85 to
9.87 and Chapter
2743. of the Revised Code specify the liability of this state or an officer or
employee of this state with respect to a civil action brought for a violation
of any provision of sections
4955.41 to
4955.47 of the Revised Code or any
order issued under those sections. As used in this division, "state" has the
same meaning as in section
2743.01 of the Revised Code, and
"officer or employee" has the same meaning as in section
9.85 of the
Revised Code.

(C)
Nothing in
sections 4955.41 to
4955.47 of the Revised Code
obligates or requires the payment by a railroad of any part of the costs of
establishing or maintaining such a railroad quiet zone.

(D)
If, prior to the creation of a railroad
quiet zone, a railroad is paying any part of the maintenance costs of a
railroad grade crossing protective device then in existence at a railroad grade
crossing located within the quiet zone, the railroad shall continue to pay
those maintenance costs after the approval by the commission of the quiet zone,
but the railroad is not required to pay any of the additional costs associated
with the installation or maintenance of any protective device installed
thereafter at the railroad grade crossing due to the creation of the quiet
zone.

(E)
Except as provided in
division (F) of this section, no money appropriated by the general assembly to
pay the costs of measures taken to increase the safety of the traveling public
at a public railroad grade crossing shall be diverted from such use after the
effective date of this section to pay any of the costs associated with the
establishment of a railroad quiet zone, including money in the grade crossing
protection fund created by section
4907.472 of the Revised Code.

(F)
State grade crossing safety
funds may be used to pay part of the costs of additional safety improvements
required to establish a railroad quiet zone when the municipal corporation or
township establishing the quiet zone complies with sections
4955.41 to
4955.47 of the Revised Code if
either of the following circumstances exist:

(1)
The municipal corporation or township
closes a public grade crossing in the same railroad corridor as the railroad
quiet zone.

(2)
The department of
transportation has selected the municipal corporation or township as a
participant in the grade separation program along the same railroad corridor as
the railroad quiet zone.

(G)
No political subdivision of the state may
use state funds of any kind to assist in the planning, construction,
development, operation, or maintenance of a railroad quiet zone unless the
political subdivision acts in accordance with sections
4955.41 to
4955.47 of the Revised Code.

No railroad company
and no employee or agent of the company shall be charged, or is liable in
damages to person or property, for any failure to sound an audible warning by
whistle, horn, bell, or other audible warning device at a
railroad grade crossing to
which any of the following apply:

(A)
The crossing is equipped in accordance with
division (B)(2) of section 4955.32 of the Revised Code
.

(B)
The crossing is located in a railroad quiet zone
established pursuant to section 4955.42 of the Revised Code
.

(C)
The crossing is located in a jurisdiction in
which such sounding is restricted or prohibited by law.